1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to battery recharging system for electric and hybrid electric vehicle. More specifically it relates to the vehicle identification used in an electric vehicles recharging station.
2. Description of Prior Art
Periodic charging of electric vehicles is a necessity. Public recharging facilities and power stations in garages and parking places, such as garages of apartment buildings and shopping mall parking facilities, are not currently available. This problem severely limits the realistic use of electric automobiles.
Unlike conventional fuel operated vehicles which can be refueled in minutes, it takes hours to recharge electric automobile batteries. It is unlikely that a garage attendant or a vehicle operator stays with the vehicle throughout the entire recharging process. That opens possibilities for energy theft.
In an attended parking facility the garage personnel may need to disconnect a car from the recharging station and move it around. Then the car should be connected to the same or to another station to continue recharging.
Severe power outages can occur during the charging period. They may also create a problem in recharging continuation due to expired authorization.
There is a need for a reliable method to prevent energy theft in recharging facilities. There is also a need for automatic continuation of the recharging process after any recharging interrupt, so that no manual authorization of recharging after such interrupt would be necessary.
Solutions available in the prior art do not address these issues.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,418 to Meese offers using a mechanical lock to prevent disconnecting an electric car from a recharging station until recharging is complete, as shown in FIG. 1 While this solution prevents energy theft it creates a problem when there is a need to move the vehicle around. That can be unsafe in emergency situations. The same patent discloses a charging station with the card reader and a separate charge card that may be obtained through a local power company or from the operator of a parking facility, such as shopping malls and garages. In case of any termination of recharging during a parking period the valid charge card should be manually “inserted for the second time”, which is impossible if the card owner or an attendant are not present. In the event of power interruption in a large public parking facility this invention does not provide a convenient solution to continue recharging when power is restored.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,205 to Williams teaches to use time meters for energy charges. In this invention recharging is going on during certain paid time. Such method also cannot prevent electric energy theft in a public garage if any unauthorized car is connected and recharged instead of the car that is billed for the energy usage.
It is an objective of this invention to provide a reliable method to facilitate automatic continuation of the recharging process without authorization of the vehicle operator or a garage attendant after interrupt in recharging for preventing energy theft and promoting safety in public garages and parking facilities.